Cassette Printer Problem

From:

"LUCAS Robert (RF4) BHR Hospitals"

I wondered if anyone else has encountered this problem and has any ideas?
We have a Surgipath VCP cassette printer in our cut up. This morning when
we took our cassettes out of the processor the numbers had come off two of
the cassettes that were next to each other (In fact they were so feint as to
be completely illegible). The day before when the cassettes were loaded they
were checked to insure the cassettes were labelled and no problem was seen
( I saw them myself). Fortunately we were able to identify which cases the
casettes belonged to but we are worried that if this happens again this may
not be possible. The cassettes were printed in advance because with this
kind of printer the ink takes a little time to dry. In fact some cassettes
were printed out during the cut up and the numbers were clear the following
day. The printer is set to two passes. We routinely process overnight
through formalin, 70% IMS, 90% IMS, IMS, xylene and paraffin wax.
So for the time being we have changed the tape and are writing the number in
pencil on the side till we feel confident that the printer is reliable. (I'm
going to take some convincing)
Rob Lucas FIBMS DipCompOpen
Cheif BMS
Histology
King George Hospital
Goodmayes
Essex